Updates from The Da Vinci Code Research Lab from the Authors of "The Da Vinci Code – The Facts Behind The Fiction"

Where Is Mary Magdalene Buried?

The official Church version is that Mary Magdalene was buried in Ephesus and that in 899 the Emperor Leo VI had her relics transferred to a monastery in Constantinople.

This has the effect of keeping Mary Magdalene well away from Western Europe and any theories about the Sangreal, the bloodline of Jesus. But a strong contender in the burial probability stakes comes from Provence in France, where there is, as mentioned before, what amounts to a ‘Mary Magdalene industry’.

It was Gregory of Tours, chronicler of the Frankish kings in the late 6th century, who recorded the older tradition that Mary Magdalene died in Ephesus where she had lived for many years with Jesus’s mother, Mary, and John the Evangelist, thought to have been the author of the Fourth Gospel, the Gospel of John.

This account was, however, contradicted in a document in Latin (c. 5th to 6th century) which, referring to an earlier record, claimed that Mary Magdalene had travelled to Aix-le-Provence with Saint Maximin and had lived there for many years before she died in Aix at the age of 60.

In keeping with the mission of Jesus entrusted to Mary Magdalene and the apostles, she and Maximin had preached the gospel in Gaul, and Maximin had become the first Christian bishop in Gaul (usually referred to as Bishop Maximus). He placed her embalmed body in a crypt and had a Basilica built over it to honour and protect it.

The body was said to have been removed during the Saracen invasions as it was feared it would be discovered and destroyed. Rumour has it that part of the remains were taken to the French monastery of Vezelay in Burgundy, the church of which carried Mary Magdalene’s name.

Years later, a monk of the Vezelay monastery is reputed to have found a crypt at the Basilica of St Maximin’s in Provence. Reference to the Magdalene was chiselled into the stone.

Margaret Starbird draws attention to a published report that the Vatican sent an Apostolic Nuncio with six bishops and several priests to celebrate mass at the Basilica of Marie Madeleine in 1950 to honour the 700-year Jubilee of the discovery of her grave in Provence. She asks questions we would all like to have answered. What did the Catholic Church know about Mary Magdalene to induce them to participate in this event? How long had the Church Fathers known whatever it was that they seemed to know? And, since they were willing to lend support to the Jubilee, why were they at the same time continuing to discount the stories that placed Mary Magdalene in Provence both during her lifetime and after her death?

Certain documents favouring the Constantinople (Byzantium) account of Mary Magdalene’s burial place claim that part of her relics were transferred in the 9th century to the monastery Church of St Lazarus and that, some time after the final Crusade, were moved to Italy where they were buried beneath the altar of the Lateran Cathedral in Rome. Other documentation places part of her relics near Marseilles where, as mentioned, the splendid St Maximum’s Basilica was built over them.

Then there is the contention that Mary Magdalene’s remains were buried, along with secret documents, on Temple Mount in Jerusalem and were found when the city was conquered during the First Crusade.

Where, then, is Mary Magdalene buried? Legends, rumours and traditions – both oral and written – abound. Again, the only honest answer is: we don’t know.

– Is she buried in Ephesus in Turkey, as the Church believes… or does it?

– Was she buried on Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and were her remains moved to the West when the crusaders took Jerusalem?

– Is she buried under the Basilica of St Maximin?

– Are some of her bones hidden in a crypt at Vezelay?

– Or are her relics buried in more than one place?

Finally, could it really be that her bones are buried within the glass pyramid at the Louvre Museum? Of all possibilities, this is surely the most unlikely.

It would be understandable had some of her bones been placed in different burial places after her initial burial in order to ensure that at least some of them survived being discovered and removed and perhaps even destroyed.

Perhaps this mystery will also be solved in due course if contemporary documents are ever discovered.

Post navigation

52 comments on “Where Is Mary Magdalene Buried?”

How on earth did the Baigent-Lee plagiarism suit against Dan Brown fail? It is totally obvious to anyone who has read both books that dan Brown lifted his plot wholesale from, “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail”. What was wrong with that judge?

Because Baigent, Lee, and Lincoln claimed their book was NON-fiction. They insisted they were writing about historical facts. You cannot copyright History….ANYBODY can write about it…anybody DOES. You CAN copyright FICTION. The problem was that Baigent and Lee wanted it both ways.

as a story he is entitled to do so and he is quite aknowledging of the fact that all these ideas are not of his own invention

its a really interesting story just enjoy it

he didnt lift his plot at all from anyone else he just wrote a story based on a lot of conspirancy theory and romantic ideas all rolled into one

the film and book ask good questions about religion and those that would protect their belief in the light of evidence to the contrary

its a great book ad a great film

mary certainly exisited as much as jesus did and its very likely that they had the the kind of relationship indicated by many texts

we may ever know where she is buried or if there is a real sophie (no pun intended)

but the holy blood holy grail book is not the first or last book on the subject and im reliably informed sales of th e book have rocketed since the DVC so antyclaims against dan brown are cynical and quite ridiculous and based on one simple incentive money

i enjoyed the book and the movie. i feel there is a lot of truth in it and the truth has to come out one day. christians deserve it, as they sacrilieged the hindu and greek empire. they must endure the curse.and high time they stopped using jesus as a toy to mint money.

I enjoyed the book. Do I believe it? Some of it, Most it is kinda far fetch. What it did was send me to do some research on my own. I learn a lot. It did not in any way taint my thought, maybe stirred it. It also reinforce the fact that history tends to be more subjective (than objective) to what it is that we are left to observe/examine and the real true is not always something we are privy to. I never really liked History in High School.

i read the book ans saw the movie and part of me wants to know where mary is buried and if she was really pregnant with jesus’s child and the other part says i dont want to know because i love the whole idea of the mystery… but mostly i just enjoyed the book and i thought it was incredibly written but thats just my opinion

I love the idea of mystery too. And I also believe Mary had an affair with Jesus the “good teacher” and that she later married the father of Christianity and the Rock of the Christian faith…Simon the man who carried the Cross of Jesus. It is all the little details that create the mystery. The little gets lost in the big picture that has been sensationalized for popular audiences. Inspired by the Da Vinci Code and all the controversy surrounding the image of Mary Magdalene, I wrote and defended a thesis entitled Mary Magdalene: Her image and relationship to Jesus. You can download and read it for free on my website. http://www.lindavogtturner.ca and let me know what you think of my research.

The book if nothing else has served to make God’s creation take a step back and think …. About time something did …. And does it matter really if Jesus was married or kissed a girl or knew the blessing of being a husband or the hope of being a father? Or is he only suppose to know the pains of humanity? I don’t know if there is a bloodline but i do know i’d be happier knowing the Lord knew the love of being a husband and father. It changes nothing … Not his message …. Not his sacrifice … Just makes him human and according to the bible blessed by GOD!!!

Can you find a verse in the Bible that says that? The coptic gospels are not reliable since they date 400 years after the Biblical sources (letters, being oldest texts only a few years after the crucifixion, and 4gospels between 30 to 50 years after the crucifixion.)

All of ‘HIS’entire life, ‘HE’ always teachs us till now, one single word, LOVE. Love to ur GOD, Love to ur surrounding peaple and least Love to ur beloved one who always cared for u. ‘HE’ always loved ‘HIS’ MOTHER. So how u justify ‘HE didn’t love a women. Please don’t get me wrong. This is what I believe. World doesn’t run by hate but LOVE. This is what we learn from every religion.

Dear My name is not important…Jesus loves Martha and Mary. This is part of the story. Mary the mother of Jesus loved God and Joseph was not sure he wanted to love a woman who had somehow got herself pregnant by that God…Yet he trusted God and began a journey that some would say was a journey of Love that redeemed her affair with God. In this journey and after Mary’s love for God was fully alive…Mary’s love got lost and in the end this love divided the whole household of Jesus because some said the Sinner Woman who loved much was not the Virgin, not the unknown person with a name that is not important. Others said her name was known to people and her name was Mary.

Jesus never existed as described in the Bible, but if Jesus and Mary Magdalene did exist as gnostics, chances are very good that MM did go to France and that her remains would have been securely protected from the day she died, with other objects, by people organized and capable of doing so. We’re talking funded and imbedded social organizations in France, so expect it to be well hidden. Most of the so-called clues let loose are a hoax; why would anything like the Priory or a bloodline protection group let loose clues. They wouldn’t. Mary Magdalene is (if she existed) carefully protected, and I just can’t believe any church has any idea where she went or where her remains ever were. Not a CHANCE!

Yes he did my friend and its all in the bible ! He did love Mary Magdalene . And I ke what’s been said so what if Jesus was a husband and avfather ? It changes nothing ! It makes him what God put him here for to be human !

If there is to be a second coming, supposedly 2,000 years after the birth of Christ. Then that time has come and gone. So the Christ Child would be about 10 now…not yet ready to emerge as the son of God.

There are no remains because she is not dead but alive in ageless grace, gods, the churches source of power on earth, has the power to heal and even raise the dead, a courpe can not heal as it is dead, she never assended as christ did but will only with her church.

Before I say my view im just going to say, i’m not religious or athiest I do not beleve nor disprove of any beliefs. If Jesus and Mary Magdalene did indeed exist and get married, would it be worth finding her final resting place? Or would it cause more problems than good in religions. There are too many people who would rise against her existance and most probably it would cause more wars and problems. I’m not saying religion is a bad thing, just saying its also dangerous from some people that take it into there own hands. Some things are usualy better left as belief and not fact.

Too bad most of these writers never spell check their work. Or if they do, their command of the English language is that of a 1st grader.

So, first graders. What does it matter where Mary Magdalen was buried? Did she rise WITH Jesus? No. Jesus did not have a child with her, either. He was the son of God, for heavens’ sake. We wish that it was true, that he and Mary fell “in love”, got married, had a child. But that is not the case, no matter how we want it to be so. I am most interested in WHY there is no mention of Mary’s apostleship. None at all. She must have been a powerful woman to have held the attention of not only Jesus but his mother, Mary. As for the “royal” connection, show it to me. Show me how they are connected.

Powerful, or exceptionally kind and faithful? Why does this generation need to find ” power” or conspiracy? Is not her faithfulness enough? Christ showed himself to her first after the resurrection simply because she was still there, looking for his dead body, yes, but not hiding or running away like the rest of the disciples. Hers is a story of faith and devotion. Why do we have to mess with it?

Let me ask how do any of us know it isn’t real. How do we know there isn’t a decedent of Jesus and Mary Magdalene or any other woman? It all happened so long ago that we don’t know. This could just be a massive cover up. I’m 16 years old and I am from a Catholic family and while everyone else might not think this is a possibility I think there is a chance it could be. And in fact I really hope this could be true. How do we know if Jesus Christ was in fact immortal. Yes he rose from death but that does not say that he wasn’t like any of us. The Catholic Church has a world full of followers, how do we know if what we are being told is true.

we will never know,and for those of us that are 1st graders,why should i believe everything that the church tells me..I have a right to ask these questions after Jesus was the Son of God and he lived amongest us motals so whats to say he didnt have a relationship on earth with a female.show me one page in the bible the states he never had one……

What no one understands is that Mary Magdalene is not buried at all. She is gods souse of the CHURCHS power on earth. She was at the tomb when Christ rose from the dead. She recieved the same gift of eternal life. The only difference between her and Christ is she never accended and only will when she takes her church. She walks the earth today alive in AGELESS GRACE, the opposite of Lilith, Adams first wife not Eve, Lilith the first vampire. Mary is the salt of the earth, the most beautiful woman that ever lived. Only the worthly can find the holy grail. And I chose to be like Mary Magdalene and someday all that follow Christ will have eternal life as she does, not like movies like Twlight that make glory out of evil and all the actors are really disciplies of satan. She is not dead she is not buried, she is alive and walks the earth today.

I’ve never understood why there must be some big conspiracy or Church cover up. I can’t fathom why it is so difficult to believe that Mary Magdalene was, as the writings of the early Church suggest, simply a close follower of Christ. She converted from sin and was well loved by Jesus. It was to her that the resurrection was first made known, and she was so inspired by it that she, along with the rest of the early Church, strove to live her life as Christ had lived and preached of our salvation through Christ’s rising from the dead. Why is that so hard to believe? Does the Catholic Church ‘always’ have to be covering something up? It’s clearly not a perfect organization, but can’t we just see it as a group of believers; followers of Christ who genuinely strive to live by the His teachings and profess his resurrection? Stop villianizing Christianity for the evil that it done and instead we can focus on the beautiful core of its teachings: a God of love who was moved with pity that he died to overcome Hell, death, and our sins so that we could live in His love.

There are so many versions of qhat is real and what is fiction. i have ab- nlood qhich is said to be from the bloodline on christ. who onows if all this is nothin but contradictions i guess when we die qe qill all find out the truth amen to that

I have found the holy island of ictis where Jesus was said to be put to rest ive published a book its called ICTIS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK and tells the true story of the nativity and they escaped the holy land to seek refuge in Devon on an island called ictis before she went to rosslyn and he could be there in the sub terainian cavern system under this island called Drakes island at the mouth of the river Tamer

All I can do is impart some information that came to me through some vivid dreams,I knew nothing of mm beforehand.i see a building,”Knights Templar” and “France” came through,when I did some research,the building I saw in my dream was the basilica at Saint baume.many more things came through relating to mm.make of it what you will….

You need to go to Church and be condemned for those words,how dare you……everything about this movie,book artifacts Are all Real!!!!!!!!……Just bcus you don’t believe in God ,he believes in you,and Will take care of you in the end

Perhaps Joan of Arc’s remains are buried under the glass pyramid?
Elijah returned as John the Baptist. Mary Magdalene returned as Joan of Arc.

What did Darth Gator say to the dolphin? “Fluke. You are my fodder.”
What did d’Arc Vader say to the Dauphin Charles VII? “Fluke. I am your father.”
Jacques d’Arc’s pet name for his illegitimate son the Dolphin of France (1403-1461)
Jacques was born in 1380, so would have been about 22 years old when Charles VII
was conceived. Charles VII was born on Feb 22 and died on July 22. Catch 22.
July 22 is the Feast Day of Mary Magdalene. Charles would have been born 2 years
prior to the marriage of Jacques d’Arc and Isabelle Romee in 1405.

Ever notice how Jehanne d’Arc is associated with the number 6 or 66 or 666?
In the film Phantom of the Opera, at Paris in 1919, we see LOT 666, the chandelier being auctioned off that the Phantom brought down the opera house with. This is auctioned off by none other than actor Paul Brooke. Paul Brooke was the priest who heard young Jehanne d’Arc’s confession two or three times a day in the 1999 film THE MESSENGER (story of Joan of Arc). In the 2005 film JOAN OF ARC (child of war, soldier of God) we learn that Joan of Arc was held for 6 months in her 66 foot above ground Magdala (tower) prison by the Burgundian wolves (Benjamite wolves, Sons of Belial the demon – Judges chp 19-21). Joan jumped from this 66 foot above ground, tower prison, out the window, and landed without injury, but was recaptured.

Joan was born on The Ephipany (of the Lord Jesus Christ) – January 6, 1412.

Mary Magdalene (i.e. Joan of Arc) is said to have been buried in Paris below a glass pyramid containing 666 frames of glass. More than likely it is not Mary, but Joan that is buried there. Mary’s remains lie in a basilica and/or a cave. Joan’s remains (ashes) were scattered in the river Seine, except for possibly her heart, which is said to have never burned. Perhaps it is Joan’s heart that is buried below the glass pyramid? This is all conjecture of course.